Dead Embers
by xxPunkRockxx
Summary: After Naruto's rejection of Sakura's "feelings", the kunoichi goes missing.  Now, dealing with conflicted feelings and his first missing teammate, Naruto must go find where Sakura has taken off to and bring her back home.
1. Chapter 1

**- Dead Embers -**

"_What would it take for things to be quiet, quiet like the snow?"_

- Louder Than Thunder, The Devil Wears Prada

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><p><em><strong>Every word that had come out of her mouth was a lie. Her love - no, her 'love' - had never existed in the first place. Now she was gone, running off to god-knows-where to find 'love'…whatever that was to her. He didn't fully understand the concept, but he knew her 'love' wasn't a love at all.<strong>_

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><p>Disclaimer: I own nothing but my writing.<p>

Note: This story is a bit AU, set after Sakura's confession, but assuming this had taken place three years later (I.e., the Rookie Nine are eighteen).

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><p><strong>- One -<strong>

"_I…love you, Naruto."_

"_Quit lying to yourself. I hate people who lie to themselves."_

The words ran through his mind again, remembering the scene as he often did these days. It was at that moment that Uzumaki Naruto had his epiphany; as kids, he had loved Sakura, she had loved Sasuke, and Sasuke had wanted nothing but revenge.

Sasuke had been the smartest of them all. Twelve-year-olds didn't have a clue what love was.

To be honest, Naruto had figured out that - years later - he still didn't know what love was. All he had ever felt for Sakura was infatuation, admiration.

Naruto lingered on one of Konohagakure's walls, having come back not for Sakura, but for himself. He needed more time before he went off to find Sasuke; a better plan, if you would.

He also needed time to put away his thoughts.

It had been quite a while since Sakura's "confession", but the words still echoed in his head and stung his heart. True, he had never _loved _Sakura, but he'd like her a hell of a lot.

Sakura had lied to him. That was what hit home the most.

Haruno Sakura was one of those girls you looked at and let your gaze linger for a moment, mostly out of curiosity. To be blatantly honest, she was nothing too special, and of course you wouldn't see anything special in her just by looking at her. Unlike her friend and rival Yamanaka Ino, Sakura came off as nothing more than ordinary.

Beneath the average looks and equally average personality, Sakura had some redeeming and exceptional qualities. Despite her personal drama, she was a loyal friend and teammate, had quite a bit of force behind her blows, and was a skilled medic-nin. It was also common knowledge that she had been lucky enough to be trained by the Hokage herself.

Nonetheless, most men didn't take the time to look past that, which was most likely the explanation for Sakura's lacking love life. True, Naruto hadn't much of one either, but he devoted most of his time to training, missions, and eating.

Girls weren't really his main priority, even at eighteen.

Somewhere beneath the I'm-not-focused-on-girls-right-now attitude he had, Naruto always had a soft spot for his former teammate. At least, up until recently.

Now, Sakura was gone. Most of the village acknowledged her lack of presence as her being 'on a mission', but truthfully it was a cover up, and very few knew the truth. Very few being Tsunade, Kakashi, Yamato, Sai, and Naruto. Everyone else (including Ino) believed Sakura had gone on a mission with two other lesser-known medic nins.

It concerned Naruto that she was gone, but some part of him was okay with it. Sakura's bullshit made things between them feel like a bad breakup (or what he assumed one would feel like), and Naruto was glad to have his space apart from the cherry blossom.

Naruto sighed heavily, rubbing the back of his neck in a half-assed attempt to relieve the tension in his muscles.

Now both his former teammates were gone. What would be next, Kakashi leaving?

Who was he kidding? The village couldn't get rid of Hatake Kakashi if they wanted to.

Naruto pushed himself up to stand on the wall, gazing out over the village. He really had no desire to go socialize - if you would call it that -, but he had to meet up with the four knowledgeable others to discuss the issue of Sakura's disappearance.

Why was that girl such a pain in the ass?

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><p>"I want the four of you to go search for her, the same way you have been doing for Sasuke," Tsunade instructed, addressing the four males standing before her. "Hatake, I'm leaving you in charge. You know Sakura just as well as I do, and when you're head isn't in the gutter you're a rather intelligent individual."<p>

"Thank you, I suppose…" Kakashi hesitantly responded to the backhanded compliment.

"Do you have any idea where she is?" Yamato inquired, locking eyes with the Hokage. It was an innocent question, but came out almost as a challenge, leaving Tsunade with pursed lips and narrowed eyes.

"I have my suspicions, yes, and Hatake knows exactly where I figure you may find her. I expect the three of you to go along without question."

Naruto groaned, running his fingers through his hair.

"This is such a pain in the ass. Who's idea was it to form a team of fuck-ups?"

Tsunade raised an eyebrow at him.

"You do realize you weren't exactly the most prestigious shinobi in the village back then, don't you, Naruto? Your teammates balanced out the skill level of your team; basically, you were the runt of the litter."

Naruto grumbled under his breath, unhappy to have his complaint turned around on him, pointing out his hypocrisy in front of the others. No doubt Sai would throw that in his face later.

Tsunade turned her attention from the bitching boy back to the rest of the group.

"I want you to leave at dawn; the sooner you get out, the better the chance you have of catching up with her. I shouldn't have delayed this as much as I did, but I figured Sakura would have returned on her own by now…human error. Not that any technology could have predicted this."

Yamato nodded his agreement to the Hokage's statement, and turned to Kakashi, looking for further instruction. When the silver-haired man said nothing, Tsunade took over again.

"You're dismissed. Good luck."

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><p>Naruto rummaged around his apartment, tossing things carelessly in the direction of his bed. He was lacking the normal passion he had for his missions, annoyed that not one, but <em>two <em>of his teammates were dumb enough to take off abruptly.

Naruto found chasing Sasuke to be a more fruitful cause than chasing Sakura; the pink-haired kunoichi had no reason to take off. There wasn't anyone outside the village that she would need to seek out, unless she was being the stubborn wench she could occasionally be and hoped to bring Sasuke back before Naruto was able to.

Yeah, right. Because one kunoichi could overpower Uchiha Sasuke. What a joke.

This mission would suck, he could already tell. Naruto had not set one foot out the door to his apartment (it wasn't even morning yet) and he was dreading this mission like none other.

At least Sasuke had a reason for leaving; some of the things he had done after taking off didn't make much sense to Naruto, like joining up with Orochimaru or teaming up with Otogakure. Either way, Sasuke had finally reached his ultimate goal in slaying his older brother. All that was left was his return.

Sasuke probably wouldn't come back. The thought was more acceptable than Sakura staying gone from the village.

Naruto slammed his fist down on his dresser, angry. What the hell had been going through Sakura's head? Was she that scorned by his rejection to take off out of the blue?

It didn't matter; regardless of the reason, it was poor judgment on her part. Sakura was being impulsive and careless. Outside the walls of the village, there were things too difficult to handle for just one shinobi.

Even when Sasuke left, he had company.

Sakura couldn't have thought through what she was getting herself into, leaving on her own like she had.

_Dumb girl…_

Of course, being her friend, he had an obligation to go find her and bring her back, just like he had promised her he would do with Sasuke.

"_Your promise to me about Sasuke doesn't matter anymore."_

Bullshit. It was all bullshit.

Why did so many responsibilities fall upon his shoulders? Was this what being Hokage would amount to?

Naruto lie down on his bed, atop all the clothes, beside the scattered kunai and other weapons and closed his eyes. A headache was forming behind his temples, pounding away like war drums.

He rolled over onto his side, staring out the window at the setting sun. He needed sleep; if he left out tomorrow lacking rest, it would make the trek ten times worse than it would already be.

For once ignoring his growling stomach, Naruto draped an arm over his eyes, blocking out the remainder of the light dripping in through the window.

These would be long weeks to come. It was going to take a lot to keep his patience from wearing thin.

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><p><strong>I recognize Naruto may be a bit ooc; it's how I planned to write him [for this story].<strong>

**I have a bad habit of writing more stories than finishing them...**

**Reviews are always appreciated.**


	2. Chapter 2

**- Dead Embers -**

"_I can tell the boy's a player, but he knows just how to make you lose control. Somehow I knew…"_

- Killa, Cherish

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><p><strong>Note: <strong>Please **review**! I appreciate the favorites/alerts, but I would like to know what you think.

But thank you for all of these from the first chapter. Much appreciated.

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><p><strong>Note 2: <strong>If you don't like the concept behind this story, don't bother continuing to read it. Everyone has their original ideas whether they correlate with the actual plot and the character personalities or not. It's a concept that's really quite simple and I see it everywhere when it comes to fan-made works; _if you don't like it, don't bother with it_. I don't know when the next update will be, so I added this in after receiving some reviews back to this chapter. I appreciate the feedback, but it isn't really constructive criticism if you're basically tearing the author's idea apart.

Just saying.

Sorry, like I said I am sick and now a bit frustrated. There is a difference between constructive criticism and...dissecting (?) a story (I know what dissecting means, just not sure if it's the term I'm looking for).

Thank you for those of you who alert, review, and favorite my stories. I truly appreciate it.

If you feel the need to give outright negative feedback (and provided you have an FF account), at least leave your name so I can respond. I should be able to give my opinion as well, right?

- Amber -

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><p><strong>- Two -<strong>

Night had gently fallen from the sky to encompass the ground below, shrouding its inhabitants in darkness.

The small back-alley town she wandered through was dimly lit, most lights burnt out or flickering. Kids were darting back inside their shabby homes, answering to their mothers' calls and fleeing the terrors of the night beginning to lurk about on street corners and behind buildings.

At one corner, a lady with thick makeup and bright red smeared lips smirked at her - wait, was that a man?

And _this_ of all places was somewhere he had passed through?

Haruno Sakura had departed from Konohagakure weeks ago, angered and hurt by her friend's rejection. Naruto could think what he wanted, and maybe some of it was true, but the thought that - had everything she said been completely truthful - he would not have believed her tore her apart.

If Naruto wouldn't accept her feelings, Sakura would find someone else who could appreciate the value of the words coming from her mouth.

Perhaps it was just to spite Naruto, but Sakura didn't give a damn if she was being petty. It felt, to her, things were reverting back to how they had once been.

Naruto had loved her, she had loved Sasuke, and Sasuke had loved no one.

In the end, Naruto and she had gotten the short ends of the sticks. Sakura mused on this with contempt; it was such an ugly thought, a stigmata on their history as a team.

Sakura stood at the edge of the town, glancing back over her shoulder at the gaudy little world she was leaving behind.

Good _riddance_.

Why he would have so much as passed through somewhere so low-down was beyond her. He was much better than that.

The pink-haired kunoichi craned her head, determining which way to head as night set in. Should she take her chances and go back into the slums where men in skirts hit on her, or should she continue on into the looming darkness and take her chances?

Sakura felt precarious about either choice; it was as if she'd been given an ultimatum.

Hell, it would probably be safer for her to go back and run _with _the trannies rather than run _away _from them.

One choice was not better than the other, and against her better judgment, Sakura wandered off into the dense forest right outside the ramshackle town.

The thick of the forest was intimidating, and Sakura would have preferred to have company at this point. She had chosen to go off on her own, so she was the only one responsible for herself.

The pink-haired kunoichi inhaled the damp night air and continued down what was barely a path between the trees, attentive and listening for any alien sounds or movements in the shadows.

Being in this forest felt like being in a graveyard. It was cryptic, lonely, and cold. Each breath she inhaled made her lungs feel as if they were coated with frost, and her mind began to reel about all the eerie stories people told about graveyards, or in her case, forests.

Either could be associated with death and other such grim events, not that it came as a surprise to her. Sakura knew what lurked in forests; murderers, marauders, thieves, runaways.

She currently fell under the last category.

A bristling in the bushes startled her, and her fingertips reached for the kunai at her hip. A rabbit darted in front of her, fleeing for its den and its safety.

At that moment, Sakura felt like that rabbit; she was out in the open, vulnerable, when she should have been home curled up in bed and sleeping.

Sakura's face hardened, determination burning inside of her like a blaze. She had not left Konohagakure aimlessly; she _had _a purpose.

Sakura would show Naruto up, and in the end he'd come crawling to her wishing he'd never pushed her away.

Really, though. What _was _she so bitter about? The fact that Naruto hadn't cared, or the fact that he didn't return her feelings?

Sakura groaned. She could keep herself awake all night contemplating it.

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><p>The sun was blinding as it streamed through the streaky glass of Naruto's bedroom window. The blonde rolled over with an unceremonious groan and a butt scratch, pressing his pillow over his face with enough force to suffocate himself.<p>

The light still managed to slip through the pillow. How? Uzumaki Naruto would never know.

Naruto hurled the pillow impatiently across the room and curled up into the fetal position, burying his head directly into his mattress, hoping to avoid having to acknowledge the light of day.

Sleep…it sounded so delicious…

"Naruto!" a muffled voice called through his door, followed by some knocking. "Baka-chan, get your ass out of bed."

Naruto's head shot up as he glared daggers at the door. Sai never failed at finding new and extremely obnoxious nicknames for him.

'_Prissy pants'_

'_Teeny weeny'_

'_Blondie-kun'_

'_Super ramen boy'_

Some days, Naruto contemplated Sai's sexuality, but in the end his ideas always ran in a circular pattern and he ended up back at the conclusion that Sai was just socially unacceptable as a human being.

In other words, Sai would be better off crawling up his own ass and staying there until the day he died.

Naruto wasn't much of a morning person…

"Uzumaki. Get your lazy ass up."

Naruto picked up a second pillow and chucked it at the door, missing it by a few feet and hitting the wall instead.

"Shut up! I'm coming."

Naruto opened the door, disgruntled and shabby with a half-together bag on his shoulder.

"You're looking beautiful as always," Sai remarked, making Naruto cringe and lower his bag enough so that it covered his rear-end. He always had this nagging feeling that Sai was checking him out. Especially after he made comments like that, no matter how sarcastic they were.

"Lighten up," another voice chimed from behind him. Naruto craned his head to see Kakashi leaning against the wall, his favorite piece of literature in hand. Unlike Sai, Kakashi wasn't paying much attention to Naruto's bed-head and boxers hanging out of his pants.

"Let's get going," Naruto sighed. After a good night's rest he had gotten over his bitterness with Sakura only to be woken up to Sai's bitchy remarks.

The boy was more catty than Yamanaka Ino.

Naruto cringed, remembering a comment Sakura had made not too long ago about how Sai and Ino would make an _"adorable couple!"_

_Hell no. _Naruto wasn't afraid of living through the apocalypse, but that was taking it to a whole new extreme.

The gates to Konohagakure loomed before them, sunlight pouring in as if to welcome them into the outside world.

This was _not _going to be an easy mission. Haruno Sakura was as stubborn as a mule, and searching for her alongside a creepy man, a thirty-something-year-old pervert, and a homosexual drama queen would make it twice as grueling.

Wonderful.

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><p>The sunlight was warm as it radiated down onto the earth from the sky, catching the highlights in Naruto's hair in the process. He tilted his head back to bask in the warmth, contemplating how annoyed his team would be if he reverted to the immature child he had once been and began groaning about, <em>"How long until we get there?"<em>

A wicked smirk crossed his lips at the thought. Sai didn't miss a beat.

"Are you fantasizing about what your dick would look like if you had an enhancement?" The pale boy piped up, not so much looking in Naruto's general direction while he spoke. The blonde glowered at him, then turned his face skyward again.

"No. I'm thinking about what it would look like if I shoved your head up your ass."

"Why would you want to see my ass, hm?"

Naruto's azure eye began to twitch in irritation. Little shit…

"Settle down," Yamato chided the two boys as if they were still preteens. Sai fell back into silence, Naruto reverted to silent grumbling.

"Where are we headed to, Kakashi?" Yamato inquired of the silver-haired jounin some feet ahead of him. Kakashi's attention was still wholly focused on his Icha Icha book grasped firmly in his right hand.

"Just follow," Kakashi advised calmly, continuing in a straight line without looking up once. Yamato nodded and turned his gaze straightforward once again.

Naruto scanned Sai through his peripherals cautiously, then looked away. Thankfully, the douche listened well to Yamato.

How were they going to convince Sakura to come back? Was he going to have to beg?

Naruto sighed, scratching the back of his head as he threw hypothetical scenarios around. It was impossible to tell how things would go down when they first encountered Sakura.

At least she wasn't as difficult as Sasuke. Naruto had went from optimistically seeking out his best friend and rival to irritably chasing him down, longing to sock him in the face and hopefully knock his pride and physical strength down a peg or two.

Sakura was also less difficult due to the fact that she didn't possess a power as revered as the Mangekyou sharingan. Haruno Sakura was very powerful for a kunoichi, but she had no way of accessing someone's mind and pulling them apart from the inside out.

As long as he came home from this mission with one of them, he would be content.

That was a lie. If he came home without Sakura, Naruto would experience and inevitable guilt trip. If he came home without Sasuke - again - he would be frustrated as always and began plotting a new way to go about retrieving the stubborn Uchiha heir.

One day, Uzumaki Naruto would accomplish his goals.

_Dattebayo…_

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><p><strong>Sorry for the crappy ending. I'm sick, but desperately wanted to update.<strong>

**Happy Halloween! Hope all yours went well, for those of you who partook.**

**Naruto is still somewhat ooc, but I rather enjoy him when he's crabby. :3**

Reviews **please?**

_And, no, I don't hate Sai - I just think it's fun to hate on him ^^_**  
><strong>


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